Cars

Perplexing BAT Find

As with every Monday when I wander over to Bring A Trailer to pick out the three vehicles that strike my fancy, there are always somewhere between six and seven hundred auctions running. This means that there are plenty that could make the list but don’t.

This week there was a very low mileage 2003 Miata that sold for $13,100. That might sound like a lot of money for a 19-year old car, but with the way car prices are right now and I had to replace my current 19-year old Miata I probably wouldn’t have a problem with that sum.

I would have a problem with this particular example though, the color. Both Donna and I thought it was the ugliest color we had ever seen on a Miata. And we know from experience, we had one as loaner back in October 2003 when our ’95 was in for a timing chain replacement. I was pretty merciless in my condemnation of Splash Green – New Miata In The Garage.

So what was especially weird for me was the comment section of the auction, the first several posts from when it was listed are all in praise of the color! Some even considered it one of the best colors the car ever came in, yikes! All I can think of was that everyone was being polite, or maybe people are now so used to seeing nearly all the vehicles on the road in a monochromatic palette that runs from white to black.

Splash Green was not very popular back in 2003. While we were looking at new cars back then, we found ourselves at a Mazda dealer in Charleston, SC and as proof I offer this little story – One Last Splash Green Story. We did end up buying a 2003 Miata later that year, but it was the real best color ever on a Miata, Garnet Red.

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Convertible Edition of SORT
The middle of May must be the start of convertible season on BAT
because of the 708 auctions today, 178 were for drop tops.
As of Monday, May 16, 2022 at 6:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
1969 Datsun 2000 Roadster 1984 Mercedes-Benz 230GE 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible
Last week on BAT we had another Javanese 2-seat sports car with 2000 in its name, but it was from Honda. Shipping is going to a lot more expensive than the typical BAT shipping because this is located in Ireland. If a classic Cadillac drop top is more your thing, you can choose one from the 40’s, 50’s or 60’s right now on BAT.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Sports: Original-Owner 2002 Honda S2000 Sold for $28,000 on 5/11/22
Off-Road: 2004 Land Rover Discovery II G4 Challenge Sold for $12,250 on 5/15/22
Touring: 2012 Maserati GranTurismo MC Bid to $48,500 on 5/11/22

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Snowy Day in May Edition of SORT
As of Monday, May 9, 2022 at 6:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
Original-Owner
2002 Honda S2000		 2004 Land Rover Discovery II G4 Challenge 2012 Maserati GranTurismo MC
The slightly larger and more expensive alternative to a 10AE Miata, i.e. blue exterior and interior. This has some serious off-road chops and the orange compliments the two blues perfectly. I have always loved the look of these. Do they ride smooth? The name says Turismo, so here’s hoping.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Sports: 1973 Porsche 914 Sold for $32,914 on 5/6/22
Off-Road: 2019 Ford Ranger XLT Sold for $46,250 on 5/4/22
Touring: 1957 Chevrolet Suburban Bid to $135,000 on 5/6/22

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Blue Monday Edition of SORT
As of Monday, May 2, 2022 at 6:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
1973 Porsche 914 2019 Ford Ranger XLT 1957 Chevrolet Suburban
If my parents had made a lot of money this car would have been my high school graduation present. If I had made a lot of money this would have been my retirement present to myself. If my godparents had made a lot of money they would have bought this new as a gift for my parents.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Sports: 1933 Ford Highboy Roadster Sold for $31,000 on 4/29/22
Off-Road: 1974 International Harvester Scout II Bid to $29,000 on 4/28/22
Touring: 1963 Jaguar MK II Sold for $31,750 on 4/28/22

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Purple People Eater Edition of SORT
As of Monday, April 25, 2022 at 6:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
1933 Ford Highboy Roadster 1974 International Harvester Scout II 1963 Jaguar MK II
I don’t think that I would actually want to own any of these cars, but once I stumbled on to the “Only a Mother Could Love” purple Jag, I just had to do a color themed option.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to, if the reserve was not met.
Sports: 1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata 10th-Anniversary Edition Sold for $16,750 on 4/23/22
Off-Road: 1979 Ford Bronco Ranger XLT Free Wheeling Sold for $48,250 on 4/19/22
Touring: 1954 Dodge Coronet Suburban Wagon Bid to $13,000 on 4/19/22

CX-5 Wrap Up

As I said yesterday, “The rental CX-5, because it is a Mazda product, was a lot more engaging to drive than the last SUV we rented.” And while it is no Miata, it was pleasurable to drive along the backroads and its turbo engine made passing slow pokes a breeze. It is no wonder this thing is the most recommended SUV by nearly everyone who appreciates driving dynamics.

Because the CX-5 was the top of the line Grand Touring model it had all the bells and whistles. There was a Moon Roof, Navigation, Leather Seats (with 2 person memory for the driver’s), and a Powered Liftgate. The moon roof was barely used, because it was too noisy over anything over parking lots speeds. Navigation wasn’t needed because we had my phone and we brought the Garmin GPS. The leather seats were not the most comfortable because they felt hard and the bottom bolstering was a little narrow. I will admit the powered lift gate was nice, but not really necessary.

There was, of course, the usual suite of safety things, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, rear cross traffic alert and radar cruise control. The blind spot monitoring was worthless because I know how to adjust the side mirrors so I don’t have a blind spot. The lane departure warning was just a rumble in the steering wheel, but it was doing a lot of that because I have a tendency to apex all the corners, so I’m glad it wasn’t the type to try and keep me in the lane. The cross traffic thing did give a warning once that was helpful, but there were 2 or 3 that were not needed because I saw what was going on before it did. The radar cruise kept messing with me, for the longest time I was wondering why the car was slowing down on its own, but by the end of the trip, I was finally getting used to having to keep my foot on it, as I approached a slower moving car that I was going to overtake.

It is a good looking vehicle from almost every angle, front, rear and the three quarters are really nice. But I’m not a fan of the straight on side view though, the nose looks too long. The black one we had was probably the best looking color IMHO on the CX-5 because it makes the black plastic cladding disappear1, but black is the absolute worst color because it shows any and all the dirt/dust, plus any minor scratches show up like they are backlit.

The CX-5 is 3 feet longer, a foot and a half taller and weights a 1,000 pounds more than the Miata, but it returned a respectable 30.4 MPG. The Miata has an overall MPG of almost 28, but on a trip like this were there is a lot of steady cruise, it would probably surpass the CX-5’s figure. The one road trip feature the Miata can’t touch is cargo capacity, with the back seats folded down the CX-5 has 59.3 cubic feet or 11-1/2 times the Miata’s 5.1 cubic feet of trunk space.

Would we buy one? Never say never, but if we are going the SUV way, maybe, just maybe Mazda’s new “activity” SUV the CX-50, a variation of the CX-5, would probably be a better choice. It is a little more rugged looking and it comes in a nice blue…

CX-50

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Tax Day Edition of SORT
As of Monday, April 18, 2022 at 6:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata
10th-Anniversary Edition		 1979 Ford Bronco Ranger
XLT Free Wheeling		 1954 Dodge Coronet
Suburban Wagon
There are a few other (1, 2 & 3) nice Miatas this week, but this is the one I’d pick. This is a big beast, but I chose it solely based on the cool 70’s vibe striping. The touring car winner, I can feel myself wallowing down the road in it now.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to, if the reserve was not met.
Sports: 2016 Lamborghini Aventador Bid to $480,000 on 4/12/22
Off-Road: 2021 Ford Bronco Sold for $67,500 on 4/16/22
Touring: 1956 Continental Mark II Sold for $53,000 on 4/13/22